The present invention relates to a dispenser tube roll-up device which facilitates the compacting of the closed end of the tube as material is dispensed over time. More specifically, it relates to an apertured clip and securement means around which the tail end of the tube is held in folded-up condition.
All popular toothpaste is water based. When toothpaste was first marketed, it was dispensed from tubes made of thin lead sheet. This material felt cool and when rolled up, as toothpaste was pushed out, it stayed neatly rolled up. However, a problem developed with using thin lead sheet to make tubes for toothpaste. Lead could be leached from the inside of the thin lead sheet tubes, into the toothpaste. Lead in a human mouth from toothpaste can possibly enter the brain and cause harmful medical conditions, including irreversible mental retardation.
To solve this problem, manufacturers of toothpaste substituted thin plastic sheet to make toothpaste tubes. Plastic tubes look good, feel good, and there is absolutely no danger of lead ever getting into the toothpaste from the plastic tubes. However, there is a problem with plastic toothpaste tubes. They refuse to stay rolled up and unroll into various contorted, undesirable shapes. Also, because they do not stay rolled up, it is difficult to squeeze all usable toothpaste from the plastic tube, as some toothpaste keeps moving back into the unrolled tube. This wastes usable toothpaste.
It has been known to hold the folds of the tail end of the toothpaste tube together by using a simple hairpin clip around the last fold. Another type of clip used in this fashion is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,823 issued to Sparr. In another type of clip, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,314 issued to Elias et al., a turn key is used to roll up the tail end of the toothpaste tube inside of the cavity of a large surrounding clip. Yet another type of dispensing tube clip disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,976,380 issued to von Schuckmann. This clip also forms a stand to hold the toothpaste tube vertically.
While these various prior art devices attempt to solve the problem of holding the tail end of a toothpaste tube in a folded condition, they are either bulky and complex or aesthetically unattractive. Furthermore, the structures of the devices of the prior art often create areas which can accumulate debris and therefore are either unsanitary or are difficult to clean. There is therefore a need in the art for a toothpaste tube fold-holder which holds the tail end of the toothpaste tube in a folded condition which is simple, attractive, inexpensive, easy to use, and sanitary.
In order to solve the need in the art described above, a dispensing tube fold-holder has been devised. The invention includes a clip about which the collapsed end of the tube is wrapped. The clip is substantially rectangular and includes a plurality of transverse ducts, at least one on each of a top and a bottom edge. In use, the ducts are accessible from the side of the folded dispensing tube so that one leg of a retainer pin can be inserted into a duct with the second leg of the pin forceably contacting the outside surface of the tube. Thus, the pin maintains the position of the folded tube end against the clip and prevents it from unraveling. The overall dimension of the clip is generally rectangular so that the collapsed tube wound around the clip is more folded than rolled. As the collapsed end of the dispenser tube is folded up to the next position, the pin is alternatingly positioned from a duct at one side of the clip to the other side of the clip. Because the clip is internal to the folds, it is not visible and provides a neat overall appearance. In one embodiment, the clip may be formed from white anodized aluminum stock of the type used to make house roof edging. The clip includes opposing sideplates which hold the distal end of the tube between them. Also, the associated pin is formed from metal stock of the type used to make household bobby pins and is preferably colored the same as the dispensing tube so that the clip and pin combination is hardly visible.
More specifically, the applicant has invented a dispensing tube fold-holder which includes a substantially rectangular clip having a plurality of ducts, at least one of said ducts lying along each of a top edge and a bottom edge of the clip. A resilient retaining pin having two legs is inserted into one of the ducts and a second leg thereby forceably contacts the outside surface of the collapsed end of the dispensing tube when the end of the tube is folded about the top and bottom edges of the clip. The clip also includes two opposite facing sideplates which are joined at a centerfold along the top edge of the clip. The inside surface of the centerfold forms one of the ducts. The other ducts are formed along the bottom edge of each of the sideplates on a side of the clip opposite the centerfold duct. A resilient cavity between the opposite facing sideplates receives the end of the toothpaste tube and clasps it since the sideplates are preferably resiliently biased toward each other, while almost touching and almost parallel.
This simple mechanical device therefore satisfies the need in the art for a mechanism which holds the tail end of dispensing tubes, such as toothpaste tubes, in their rolled-up or folded-up condition. As a further objective, it provides the retention of the folded condition of the tube in a neat and aesthetically pleasing way since only a very small portion of the device is visible. To meet yet another objective, the present device may be manufactured very inexpensively and it is extremely easy to use. Other objectives and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings and description of the preferred embodiment.